Child's Play
by NekoPaint
Summary: Digging out an old photo album leads to the oddest things. SasorixOC. Summaries hate me. Rated T for now. Some language later on. Rating may go up for later chapters. R&R please!
1. Renewed

**Ta-da! Very first chapter of SasorixOC. I kinda want to change the title, I don't know yet though. Thank you for reading, and reviews please? I'd love to hear from you guys .. **

**Disclaimer: I DON'T Own Naruto.**

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Tomoki Ura's mind was vacant as her onyx eyes flicked over the pale, grey walls of the cremation quarters of the tiny funeral home in Suna. Behind her, two middle aged men in uniforms conversed quietly with each other about the body in the cardboard box in front of her. Their voices were tweaked to sound mournful and caring, but in the wake of it all there was a thick note of contempt. It was sickening.

Her eyes adverted from the blanched walls to the detrimental object itself, the cardboard box. It was rather large, and she knew what was inside it. Her father had passed in his sleep of old age and she decided it would be best to have him cremated, like they had done with her mother. Her fingers made swirls over the thin lid, where his face lay under. His expression was peaceful the last time she saw it, as if he died smiling, knowing he had lived a fine life. Inwardly, she grinned as she thought of his laugh and how they would sit together and just talk about anything that came to mind. Her crying had filled the last three nights, so the tears would not come. Only sheer accepting of the fact he was gone. Her mind found her hand on the box once more, as it lay on the small conveyor belt toward the chamber where it would be fired.

She heard footsteps, and one of the men approached her apprehensively. This offended her a little, as if they expected her to just break down in a fit of sobs if they spoke to her.

"? We are ready to cremate the body, if it is alright with you."

"Yeah, before you do anything, can I have a minute on my own?"

"Certainly," The man's voice was just above a murmur as he ushered the other male out of the room.

Alone, Tomoki contemplated opening the box, just to see his peaceful and aged face one more time, but decided against it, inferring that it would trigger a fresh flow of tears. Swallowing hard, she took a few deep breaths, her fingers trailing off the box, the conveyor, and then away to her sides. She hugged herself wearily, her limbs heavy with grief.

Eyes boring into the ground, she raised her hand and made a motion for the workers to come back in and finish the job. The door clicked, and the taller male slowly trotted over to press the controls. Her eyes wouldn't leave the box as it rolled over the rickety rubber belt into the compact chamber. Bright, orange flames shot out of nozzles and the brown card instantly went black, until each end curled upwards. She'd had enough.

She turned desperately to the men behind her.

"Are there any papers, or anything that I have to sign?"

"Yes, they're ready for you at the front office."

"Alright. Thank you, and the whole funeral home for your help," She said as she shook hands with the both of them.

"It was our pleasure. was a great man, may he rest in peace," Said the other man, speaking for the first time since the procedure had begun. His words sounded genuine enough, and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

She stole out the room. Outside was brighter, since some of the space was occupied with windows, unlike the cremation quarters. Striding slowly towards the front office, her mind wandered incessantly. She reached the small desk where a bright eyed receptionist was waiting. She looked up from typing and grinned cordially.

"Tomoki Ura, am I right?"

She recognized the receptionist as one of her father's acquaintances. Though she couldn't remember her name. She nodded.

"My, my. You look so much like your father."

"Hah, thanks."

"I'm sorry for your loss. He was an excellent man."

"Thank you. I'm supposed to sign papers, yes?"

"Oh, right. Don't worry; it's just a few release forms, and the death certificate."

"Uh huh," Was all she was able to say as she read over the papers and scrawled her awkward signature over them. She was her own person now, no parents to cry too. She felt strangely empty, and scared.

"You're an orphan as of today, love. Everything will be alright, I promise," The receptionist's attempt to be motherly was merely mildly helpful to her. Still, she greeted it with as much of a grin as she could muster, and left the building to the home that she now solely owned.

Walking through the familiar white door of the small blanched green home, it all seemed so much bigger then it should've, and much more forlorn. Hanging up her thin cardigan on the hook, she paced about the halls, thinking. Not wanting to go up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were, she settled with the large table they had never used. Slumping in the comfy, squashy chair, she noticed the large cabinet behind it. Curious to find out what was in the drawer, she crouched on all fours, and shook open the tacky ligament of furniture. What was inside made her call out in amazement.

Pictures of her as a child. And a whole lot of them at that. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she sorted through an album of her first years, and steps, with her mother and father both waiting to seize her if she ever fell. And then there were the ones from kindergarten, and preschool. She laughed as she saw a frame of her father trying to figure out how to do hair up in pigtails.

Looking once more through the small space, she found a faded reddish album at the very back, labelled "Tomoki's 1st Grade". It was by far the heaviest, even more so than the 2nd, 4th, or 5th years. Covering her hand in the sleeve of her shirt, she brushed the thin film of dust off the cover, before flipping it open to the first page. There she was again, light up shoes and all. About four or 5 pages in, there was a page that made her drop the album at the sight of it. She picked it up once more, and her heart felt as if it had skipped a beat. These were the pictures taken on the day where the 1st graders first met their 'big buddies', so they were called. Memories flooded through to break the dam of her mind.

_**-Flashback-**_

"Okay class! Sit down in a nice circle on the carpet, and get ready to meet your big buddies!"

"Yes !" The class replied eagerly, a certain tiny dark haired girl raising her voice louder than the other due to her bubbling excitement. Each small child bounded out of their seats, and over to the bright blue, purple and green patterned carpet.

The warm eyed teacher stopped the small dark haired girl mid stride to reprimand her gently.

"Tomoki, I'm very glad you're excited, but you have to be a little bit quieter inside? Okay?"

"Yes ! I'm sorry." The small girl replied, her dark eyes wide with apology.

"That's quite alright, Tomoki," Her teacher said before laughing at the small, adorable little girl, who was now grinning widely. "Go on, have fun."

Tomoki pattered off to join the group on the carpet, her dark purple dress flying behind her.

When the entire 6th grade class had sauntered in, each of the small children in the circular formation on the carpet had looked up in awe at how tall they were. As the teacher read out the pairings, each larger child would walk over to sit next to their buddies as the grinning teacher motioned to them. Tomoki almost rocked in her seat with anticipation as read off the name of the boy with the last name one letter ahead of her in the alphabetical list. His buddy smirked and went to join the boy at the other side of the circle. Tomoki was next.

Her teacher's glasses slipped a bit down the bridge of her nose, and she pushed them upwards once more.

"Tomoki Ura, Sasori Akasuna."

From the very back of the muddle of 6th graders, emerged a redheaded boy with heavy lidded, chocolate brown eyes. He was fairly tall, and was wearing simple long, slim black pants, with a white t-shirt and a red short sleeved unbuttoned shirt over top. His hitai-ate was tied around his upper arm. He smiled as the teacher motioned towards a now still Tomoki, and sauntered over to meet her. The smile never left his face as he sat down noiselessly next to her. She gazed up at him with wide, childish eyes. He chuckled, and dimples appeared in his boyish face.

"Hi there, Tomoki, is it?"

"Yes," She said quietly.

"I'm Sasori. No need to be scared, I won't hurt you."

Tomoki greeted the words apprehensively.

Sasori figured his words weren't making much impact, so he decided on something a tad bit more childish.

"Pinkie swear on it?" The redhead asked, holding out his hand.

A tiny giggle escaped the silent, tiny girl, and she smiled. Nodding, she held out her own hand, miniscule compared to his. The promise was made, and the grin on each child's face grew wider.

The teacher then told each pair to pick out a few books, and find a spot in the room, where each buddy would read to the other in turn.

They agreed to one book each, and Sasori picked out _Pinocchio, _while Tomoki pulled _Mulan _out of the bookcase.

"Did you want to choose a spot, then?" Sasori asked his buddy.

"What about there?" Tomoki asked, pointing to a corner of the classroom filled with different coloured beanbag chairs and couches.

Sasori had always wondered what sitting in a beanbag chair would be like.

"Sure!" He replied, and she had then pulled him by his hand to the cushions.

The smaller girl nestled comfortably in a red beanbag cushion, while her larger companion sat down awkwardly on a tiny couch, only to lean back too far, and tip it over, making her laugh once more.

_**-End Flashback-**_

That was twenty-three years ago, and she remembered it clear as day. She looked down upon the rest of the album fondly. After the pictures of the pinkie swear, almost each one had Sasori in it. Ever since they had been paired as buddies the two became almost inseparable. He was like the brother she never had, and she to him was a little sister he cared a great deal for.

In the very back pages of the album, were ones of her 1st grade birthday. She giggled quietly, seeing as Sasori was the oldest child there. Yet, he always seemed to enjoy himself when he was with her. She didn't have many friends growing up, one or two at most, and they had all moved away. She was never one to seriously socialize and make a bond with anyone except her almost nii-san.

At the last two or three pages, there was a thick card cover that moved with the page. Not realizing it was relevant, she flipped all three at once, causing a small doll like toy to fall from the small compartment in the back of the album. She guessed the cover to the compartment was the thick card page she had turned. Stooping low, she grabbed and appendage of the doll like thing. It had a grainy and smooth texture, and was slightly faded with age.

Holding it up to the light, she cried out in awe and recognition. In her hands, was a small puppet, fashioned as a teddy bear. It had patches painted over the wood in scattered places across its body, and a tiny, snug Sunagakure hitai-ate draped over its left eye. Every quality of the toy came back to her. She delved deeper in her mind for memories of the teddy. Bending its right foot upwards, she checked if the red scorpion signature was still there. Sure enough, bold scarlet, still as visible as the day when she received it from him.

It was the last day of break before 2nd grade started, Tomoki had returned home to her father blinking back tears. Her mother, whose health had declined extremely due to over tiredness, had passed. Tomoki was still a small child back then, so reality didn't set in as strongly as it would have if she was older. Still, when her father explained that she "couldn't see mommy" anymore while he held her close, tears welled.

She ran. That was the only thing a little girl knew to do. She ran far from the place that held all the sorrow, and grief. Her destination was not far from home, only to the park a few minutes away. Her father had let her run off; since he knew that anything he could have said wouldn't have helped.

Almost instantly after the small girl had sprinted off, her father had answered the door to a grinning Sasori, asking for Tomoki. He had a present for her, wrapped in a small purple box. Her father had barely finished explaining the situation to the redheaded boy before he sprinted off to the park. Sure enough, the tiny girl was swinging, alone.

Approaching her slowly, Sasori quietly spoke her name.

"Tomoki? Are you ok, imouto?"

The tiny sand-nin's eyes never left her lap, but her head shook.

"Come here," Sasori had said before lifting the young girl from her seat and placing her in his lap. Almost as if on cue, Tomoki had tangled her hands into his shirt and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"M-M-My m-mommy's g-gone, nii-chan!" She managed to choke out in between sobs.

He hated whenever his little sister cried.

"Hey, hey, shh. Shh," He murmured quietly. "Everything's going to be fine, okay? Your mommy is in a better place now. But she's still with you, alright?"

"H-how?"

"You remember her, right? And you miss her also, yes?"

"Y-yes."

"That's how she's still with you. Okay?" He looked down at her with wide, brown eyes.

"Okay..."

"Good. Now, tell me, will this make you feel a bit better?" He had unwrapped the present, and now held the tiny puppet in his hand, shaking it so it's arms and legs moved whimsically. He mimed it walking, and dropped it into her open hands.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ho? Oh, domo arigato, nii-san," She had said before hugging him tightly.

Tomoki had lost herself in reminisce, and failed to notice a hooded figure with flaming blond hair coyly peering in from the window.

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**Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Review please? **

**Imouto - Little Sister **

**Nii-Chan/San - Big Brother**

**Hitai-Ate - Forehead Protector **


	2. Cereal

**I am so, so sorry for the really late update! Microsoft Word hates me, and I have been busy with other things and homework. Gomen! **

**Also, I would like to say my thanks to Kuro Shinen Akuma, my first review on this story! Therefore, I love you, I love you, I love you!

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Gradually, Sasori began to fade and fade throughout the many photo albums. He appeared less at parties and functions, let alone Tomoki's side. It seemed reasonable, she guessed. People got older, they went to different schools, and they fell apart. Finally, midway through the album labelled "4th Grade", he disappeared altogether.

There was a sour note left on her tongue as Tomoki glanced across the last shot. It was a photograph of an awkward hug; with evident coldness and contempt from the older redhead. His eyes had lost all their warmth, and were now cold, glassy orbs set in his face rather than the affectionate chocolate she remembered and at that time, had missed oh so much.

He also had become quieter, and laughed less, always hanging around on his own; the only thing he had paid great care to anymore was his puppets. A cold, scoffing grin came across Tomoki's face. The boy cared more for wooden contraptions than an actual person. No matter how much she detested him now, she was unable to say she was glad he had left Suna that year. It was a bitter memory, and her mind recoiled at the thought of it.

The weather was unnervingly bright, birds chirping, sun shining. Something out of a fairytale. It was almost surprising woodland animals didn't develop the strange ability to talk at the sight of it. A younger Tomoki padded off silently to her nii-san's house. She was in the 4th grade now, and was granted the privilege to walk to his address.

The redhead had haphazardly planned a walk with the girl, not realizing she would follow-through with the plan. She knocked on his door warily, waiting patient at the step. There was a loud banging and thumping coming from the within the structure, and to be truthful, it worried her. When it had been at least 15 minutes she had waited outside, she grew frustrated and reached for the handle, to find it was unlocked. At a snail's pace, she followed the thunderous noises upstairs to the corridor of rooms. The sounds seemed to be escaping from the space under a certain door down the walkway. It was bare, except for being marked with the recognizable diamond framed scarlet scorpion. The noises sounded even louder, so it was common sense for Tomoki to pound the door with her fist, loud enough to be heard over them.

Abruptly, the banging stopped.

"Nii-san?"

"Shit. Uh, Tomoki?"

The now 9th grader's voice brightened her face with a grin.

"Yeah, it's me. Weren't we supposed to go for a walk today?"

"Oh, right. Uh, I don't think I can make it today!" He called from behind the panel of wood.

"Okay...That's fine." She tried hard to hide the unhappiness in her voice. There was even more banging. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing! I think you should leave, imouto."

"What are you hiding?" She couldn't stop herself from blurting out the accusation.

"Not anything! Tomoki, leave!" He still hadn't opened the door.

"Can I come in?"

"No! Get out!"

Nothing to lose there. She rammed her way into the small room. It was a pigsty. Every piece of furniture was looked ransacked, and knocked over. Clothes were hanging out of drawers like intestines out of a gaping stomach. She suddenly felt extremely empty. On the bed, or what was left of it, lay gigantic half-open suitcase, filled almost to the brim with astray clothing.

Forcing her mind to clear, she took a sharp, forced inhale.

"Nii-san, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. Now for the 4th time, get out of my house!"

"Why? What is there I can't know? I thought we told each other everything!" She said, desperate now.

By now, Sasori had regretted every word he had said, or yelled, to Tomoki. But it was all in the best interest for the little girl. She didn't need to know what he was planning, she relied on him, cared for him, and she shouldn't have to know what was happening. He had to get her out so he could finish and leave the village.

He bit down hard on his lip until he tasted blood, not wanting to say the next irate words that popped into his head. Surely they would oblige the girl's leave. He swallowed back unexpected tears. This wasn't the time to be selfish, if he could even call it that, it was the time to do everything in best interest for Tomoki to not get damaged.

He sucked in a breath.

"Tomoki. Leave."

"But-"

"No buts. Get out. I'm tired of you relying on your stupid brother sister morals. I do not, repeat, do not tell you everything and never will. You are not my imouto. You are just a stupid little kid, striving for a fantasy that isn't real. Get out of my life!" The redhead swallowed the onslaught of tears that followed the sentence. She didn't see, for he had said this all with his back facing her.

Tomoki felt as if there was a large hole in her chest.

Like the carpet had just been pulled from her feet.

Miserable.

Empty.

She let out a sort of sound that was a muddle of a gasp and sob; before turning and sprinting out of the room faster than her legs could carry her.

And...Needless to say, she detested him ever since.

She scoffed uncaringly, but there was a small, twinge in her chest that could almost trigger tears.

Sure, she loathed him.

Doesn't mean she didn't miss him.

A lot.

Swallowing hard, she tossed the black leather album back into its box. She needed sleep. This instant.

Pein had his head in his hands.

Groaning loudly, he caught the attention of Konan sitting across the room from him. The bluenette walked over to sit next to her best friend.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Deidara's late. That's what," He replied, not removing his head from its place.

Konan rolled her eyes and her worrisome companion.

"It's raining; of course the guy is going to be late. He flies here and there on a clay bird, for god's sake," She joked at the orange haired leader.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"Besides, the base isn't that quiet without him," She mused.

Almost as if on cue, Hidan's voice echoed through the corridors.

"FUCK!"

Pein couldn't hold back a grin. Moulding his features back into their solitary state, he removed his face from his hands and slowly walked off to greet the albino's screech.

"Yes Hidan! What now?"

He had reached the kitchen, where Sasori was sitting at the table, chewing cereal with a bemused expression on his face, while the pink eyed Nin, was glaring daggers back at him, standing on the now creaking table top.

"Puppet ass here, made fun of my ritual!"

Leader sighed, and pulled himself a chair at the counter.

"First, get off the table; I think you're going to shatter it. Good. No how did he ridicule your Jashin-Sama?" He ruled this all out in a lazy tone.

"He compared the Jashin circle to a piece of cereal."

For a puppet, Sasori looked pretty damn amused. He was almost laughing.

"Leader-Sama, in all due respect. It does look like a piece of cereal." He retorted, holding up a loop, which had a deformation in the center that looked very much like a triangle.

"You guys are preschoolers, seriously. Grow up." Leader said with a smirk, almost jokingly, as if he knew it'd never happen. "But for the record, I agree with Sasori."

Hidan was almost fuming red. But he regained his composure to refute full-wit.

"Yes, because _we_ are the immature ones. Thanks Leader."

Almost as if to save Pein from anymore profanities that would escape the albino's lips, Deidara swept into the room, his long, blonde hair matted to his face with rain. He made no sign of noticing the other men sitting at the table as he flopped down beside the fridge, panting heavily.

Pein let out a breath. At least the bomber didn't get caught in the storm.

"Good. You're finally back. Now-" Leader stated.

"What do you mean finally?! I was in the middle of a thunderstorm! Jeez!" The blonde refuted, exasperated. His breathing still had not lessened enough for him to take anymore jabs at the orange haired man.

"I'll grant you that. Now, to my office for your report."

Deidara's eyes were livid.

"Can I, you know, eat first? I was away for three days, hn!"

"Huh? Oh, yes. I believe so. Eat. Then my office."

The bomber replied back with an eye roll. Leader's expression didn't change in the slightest as he stalked off to his office, the room he spent half of his life in.

The blonde regained control over his breathing and joined the two remaining men at the table.

"Oh, hey...Jashin circle cereal. Can I have some, Danna?" The bomber said as he brought a bowl and spoon to the table.

There was a loud scraping of chair against tile floor as Hidan swept from the room leaving a slur of viewer discretion advised words in his wake.

The two men remaining at the table glanced over at each other before bursting out in fits of laughter.

Their chuckles died down enough for Deidara to gulp down the last of the ridiculed cereal before walking down to Leader's office.

Inside, Leader sat with his back to the door, facing the wall. Deidara's steps slowed as he closed the door behind him. The room that Pein worked in was the darkest painted area in the entire base, and it still gave the bomber shivers each time he stood inside it. It was all in a demeaning sense, the room was large and high ceilinged, with a desk and two uncomfortable chairs as its only furniture.

Leader spun his chair around at the blonde, who was now seated in the smaller chair opposing him.

"Good. So, it's the right girl, yes?" Pein wasted no time in asking the question.

"Takara Rin of Suna? Yeah. It's her. Alive and well, un."

"Thank god. The girl took months to find. Okay, I need you to go retrieve her."

"No problem, Leader-Sama. I'll leave first thing tomorrow, hn," He replied.

"No, leave now. It's a two day trip from here to Suna anyways," Leader enforced expression unchanging.

"But I just got back!" Said Deidara, unbelieving his superior's order.

"And now you're leaving again."

The S-Rank groaned. "Fine, but I am sleeping like a rock when I get back, and you can't do anything about that, un."

"Fine with me what your sleeping habits are, as long as you get the new member here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He drawled back, leaving the room in hopes of changing clothes before departing again. Unfortunately, Leader followed suit, which deprived him of his plan.

Hitching up his cloak once more, the blonde made for the entrance, passing the kitchen in his slow, tired pace.

Sasori's brown eyes glanced over at the younger man, and gave an annoyed look. He was leaving for another mission without him.

They were supposed to be partners.

Stupid blonde.

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**Haha, I quite like the ending to this one. **

**Also, after getting my buddies to read this, the cereal part is very much loved. **

**Hope you liked, and I promise the next update won't take so long! R&R please? **

**'Till next time! **


	3. Boxers

Okay, first off: I AM SO, SO , SO, SO, SORRY FOR THE DELAY! Okay, I can't believe how long it took me to get this chapter up.

I had a 3 projects at school, and Word stopped working, and I shouldn't be making excuses. I am so sorry!

I know a lot of you wanted to see what happens when Tomoki meets Sasori again, but I didn't end up putting it in this chapter. I will put it in the next for sure, I have it all planned out too! Hope you like, and I promise it will never take me this long again!

Also; A formatting error that was in Chapter 1 that I've been meaning to correct for a while is during the flashback, where Tomoki's class is talking to their teacher, it somehow just came out as "Yes !" - Which is why it bugs me. It's supposed to say "Yes, !" and Tomoki says that as well when she's talking to her. I've tried countless times to edit this, but it hasn't worked. So I figured I'd tell you on here. Thanks!

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Wind rattled against the window like nobody's business. Every patch of navy sky was blotted out by grey masses of cloud.

Not even stars were visible.

The storm fumed with a menacing aura, and Tomoki tossed and turned in bed relentlessly. Day in, day out. Six since the cremation. She stopped and remained still for a small while.

To be truthful, her counting of days since should have ceased by now. But it had become routine. Tossing once more, she groaned into the pillow. Lifting her head slightly, the bright red LED display of the clock read 5:59AM.

"You've got to be kidding me," She spoke into the pillow, voice muffled. Squirming out of the blanket, she put herself into a mental state of meditation, and exhaled slowly. Sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs; she wasn't tired in the slightest.

Groaning once more, she rose from the bed; eyes still closed, and felt around for the light switch. Flicking on, she instantly regretted the intense glare and turned it off, lumbering to the kitchen.

Not bothering with the light this time, she made a beeline for the fridge. Grabbing around for the milk, she remembered that she hadn't had any since a week ago, and settled for juice.

A small tinkling noise emanated from the opposite side of the room. Regarding it as her overtiredness, she set the carton down next to the trashcan, made for her bedroom once more.

"My my, someone's up late, hn?"

Tomoki screamed, grabbing the broom that hung by the doorway in a vain attempt at self defence.

"Well, I must say, that's quite the menacing picture you put on, un," Said the bodiless voice again, which was undeniably a man's.

She gulped. "Who the hell are you, and why are you in my house?" Her voice shook, which broke her intimidating facade.

"Turn on the light, for one thing, hn." He answered, voice calm.

Switching her grip on the broom, her hand slowly crawled up the wall, feeling blindly for the switch. Her position did not change as the luminosity flicked on.

It revealed a man sitting at the bar like table on the opposing side of the kitchen, expression lazy. He bowed slightly in her stare, and grinned. Atop his head, was a red ribbon that gathered his violently blonde hair into a tall ponytail. One of his eyes was covered by shaggy bangs that inched down past his chin, while the visible one was a faded cyan color. He made a sort of mock salute with two fingers.

"Deidara of the Akatsuki. I'm here to recruit you for the organization, un." His voice failed to waver in any possible way. The man named Deidara yawned.

"Uh, alright," She relaxed a tad, seeing as the man had some sort of human quality to him from the yawn, plus it showed he would be slightly easier to overpower if the time came. "So, what exactly is the Akatsuki, and why am I being recruited for it?"

"Oh, joy. More explaining. Well, I can't say I blame you. Okay, I'm going on a need to know basis, seeing as I'm tired out of my mind, hn. Akatsuki is a criminal organization, and you are being recruited because you have all the skills and requirements for it, un." By now his voice had picked up in tempo, although he seemed as if he was about to fall under.

Still one cyan eye stared at her.

She gave up fearing the man that could possibly be her new comrade, and slowly paced, before deciding to make a cup of tea.

"...Okay. Define criminal organization," She said as she fixed the kettle, pulling out teabags. Reaching up to grab mugs, she paused and looked at the man beside her, who had still not answered her question. "Tea?" She asked, pulling out an extra mug and holding it out towards him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yes please, un." He answered eagerly, completely disregarding her former inquiry.

"Uh huh. Can you answer my question now?" She stated again, slightly annoyed.

"Leader can explain to you, alright? Now finish tea, and then we have to leave. It's a three day trip from here to the base, un," He replied, not bothering to acknowledge her confusion. "So can you hurry the hell up?"

"You never even asked me if I wanted to join this organization anyways, so why do I have to listen to you?" She snapped.

"Because for one, Leader will kill someone if you don't join; be it you or I. And, if I'm being completely honest, you don't seem as if there's anything here keeping you from joining anyways," He reasoned.

Her breath hitched slightly.

"What makes you say that? I don't recall mentioning anything about my life here."

"Oh, right. Akatsuki does a lot of research on their members before they join, and have existing members do what is called a scope out. Well, spy on you to see if you're alive and things like that. This was essentially my job," Deidara talked in a manner that seemed as if he thought the idea of spying on someone unrightfully was perfectly in grace and ordinary. "Therefore, I know your name, family history, school and criminal record, plus the fact that you haven't ever moved from the city once. Your father and mother are deceased, and you have no siblings. Are currently unemployed and living alone."

Over the course of his explanation, Tomoki's efforts to make tea had ceased. Every fact that he had spoken was true, and she was uneasy about what else he might know.

"And all that cohort operation doesn't disconcert you in the slightest?" She asked, hoping for somewhat of a humane answer.

"Well, to a degree, yes. Since the same measures were taken with me. But you have to remember that I was the one carrying out the jobs with you," He replied, eyeing the tea mug on the table.

She took this as a signal to continue with the tea, and resumed opening the package of teabags.

"Ah, finally." He greeted her actions gratefully. "Now, I need you to officially say that you're joining the organization."

Due to all of the conversation that had gone on between the two, Tomoki hadn't really taken the time to discern actually joining the organization. The name itself was shrouded in ambiguity.

Akatsuki.

The word on its own meant dawn or daybreak, which contrasted what seemed far too extremely with the organization's motives. Purposes, if you will.

Like any other decision, it had its own pros, as well as cons; albeit this time the cons tipped the scale severely. Despite this, there was a strong intuitional feel in the back of her mind somehow saying that becoming a part of this was a fine idea.

It did give her a chance to leave Suna, where to be truthful; there really was nothing for her. Chance to do something with her life. Although this wasn't how she sifted through it in her head, for that sounded too much like a job opportunity.

It meant becoming an official criminal. This, by human nature, was exceptionally frowned upon. This wasn't something that affected the situation as much. The thought of becoming an illicit somehow excited her, like a child being baited with expired candy.

"Uh, this doesn't have to sound official, does it?" She asked, assembling her mind.

"Yes, yes it does, un," Deidara replied.

Her dark eyes rolled.

"Too bad. I'll join the organization," She answered, handing him the cup of pekoe.

All civilized thoughts she had of Deidara were lost as she watched him chug down the scalding hot tea in a minute flat.

* * *

Sasori smoothed the blanket down on the bed before sitting down and removing his foot. It had been creaky and stiff for the past few weeks, and he had been meaning to polish it and oil the joint.

* * *

To Tomoki, it was candidly uncomfortable trying to gulp down the last of her tea with the bright blue eyes of Deidara boring into the side of her face. He was more than earnest to leave.

"Okay, I'm done," She said, washing the cup out in the sink and backing away with her hands up, mocking him. "Just let me go pack, and put something more suitable on." She reasoned, for what she wore now wasn't necessarily the most prepared. An unbuttoned long sleeve intensely orange shirt covered a white sleeveless top on her upper half, and she wore navy shorts (boxers) for pants. It was an odd combination of sleepwear, thrown together from what she mustered the energy to pull out of the closet at the given time.

* * *

The puppet man made circles in the carpet with his heel, testing out the newly oiled joint. Scuffing them out, he walked to the shelving unit in the corner of the room, running his hand through his burgundy hair.

It was a rather undisturbed piece of furniture, only used to store possessions that would most likely never be found again.

Without giving it a second thought, he aimed a powerful kick at its base, nodding at the strength of his maintenance-d extremity. As he started to walk back to the bed, a box that resided at the very top of the unit teetered and fell to the ground, jarring its lid and dislodging its contents.

Stooping to his knees, he began to pick up each fallen object. They were picture frames, most likely his, for he had brought a box of them here when he first joined. Most were the home of a nature shot, or a still of a miniscule version of himself.

There were about three left still splayed out on the ground when he stopped mid-grab, gawking at the corner of one picture who's frame jutted out from the pile he had created.

The corner was a part of a frame containing a beanbag chair.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Hope you liked, review?

Also, if you didn't get the last sentence, the beanbag chair refers to what Tomoki sat in when they first met.

Okay, thankies! EDIT - I finally added the separation in between Sasori and Tomoki's POV's to avoid any further confusion.

'Till next time! I love you guys so much!


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